The Rev. Billy Graham, who transformed American religious life through his preaching and activism, becoming a counselor to presidents and the most widely heard Christian evangelist in history, died Wednesday at 99-years-old.

Graham, who long suffered from cancer, pneumonia and other ailments, died at his home in North Carolina, spokesman Mark DeMoss told The Associated Press.

Graham had a history with Los Angeles, drawing nearly 350,000 people in downtown Los Angeles in a span of eight weeks back in 1949, the attention feeding his rise to fame. He returned to Southern California for more speaking super events, completely filling out the stands and field of the Memorial Coliseum in 1963.

Larry talks to president of the Fuller Theological Seminary Mark Labberton about Graham’s connections with Hollywood and Los Angeles media, as well as what he meant to the post-war generation and the religious community of L.A.

With files from the Associated Press.

We learned this morning that Rev. Billy Graham had passed away at 99, @LarryMantle’s first thought was to his connection to and impact on Los Angeles, where he really made his name nationally. We'll look back on Graham's place in L.A. religious history today at 11:50a on @KPCCpic.twitter.com/2Zq9X5B2VB